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A Strategic Safety Management Framework
A Strategic Safety Management Framework
Abstract: The aim of this paper is to propose a safety management framework for construction companies. A literature
review was carried out to identify significant factors that would improve safety performance. Two management tools—
namely, the balanced scorecard and quality function deployment (QFD)—were used to construct the framework. Strategic
goals were established for each of the following perspectives of the balanced scorecard: financial and cultural, employee,
process, and learning. Afterwards, a questionnaire was prepared using the QFD approach. The goals in the financial
and cultural perspective were defined as the safety-related needs of the organization (“customer requirements” in the
original QFD approach); and the goals in the remaining perspectives included the actions that the organization could
take to meet its needs. Results of the questionnaire were used to set the final strategic goals in the balanced scorecard.
Safety performance measures and initiatives were used to accomplish the goals in the balanced scorecard.
Résumé : Cet article propose un cadre de gestion de la sécurité pour les compagnies de construction. Une revue de la
littérature a tout d’abord été réalisée afin d’identifier les facteurs significatifs qui pourraient améliorer la sécurité. Puis,
deux outils de gestion ont été utilisés pour la présente étude, dont le tableau de bord équilibré et le déploiement de la
fonction qualité. Des objectifs stratégiques ont été établis pour chaque aspect du tableau de bord équilibré : financier et
culturel, les employés, les procédés ainsi que l’apprentissage et la croissance. Par après, un questionnaire a été préparé
en utilisant l’approche du déploiement de la fonction qualité. Les objectifs financiers et culturels ont été définis comme
étant les besoins reliés à la sécurité (« exigences des clients » dans l’approche initiale du déploiement de la fonction
qualité) et les objectifs des autres aspects comprenaient les actions que l’organisation pourrait prendre afin de répondre
à ses besoins. Les résultats ont été utilisés pour déterminer les objectifs stratégiques finaux dans le tableau de bord
équilibré. Les mesures et les initiatives de sécurité ont été utilisées pour réaliser les objectifs du tableau de bord équilibré.
Fig. 1. Proposed safety management framework. other safety personnel. Furthermore, Hinze and Raboud (1988)
identified appropriate means of achieving or maintaining
acceptable safety performance on large projects. They found
that monitoring safety, holding safety meetings regularly,
and organizing safety site tours reduced the number of acci-
dents.
Kibert and Coble (1995) recommended that safety and
environmental regulations be consolidated for the benefit of
the construction industry. Jaselskis et al. (1996) analyzed the
safety programs of 48 companies and 69 projects with vari-
ous levels of safety performance and provided the industry
with strategies for improving construction safety. Statistical
analysis of the data pointed to several company- and project-
specific factors that were significant in improving safety per-
formance. Kartam (1997) tried to integrate safety and health
performance with critical path method scheduling software.
The rationale for a knowledge-intensive integrated system
was suggested to show how the development of such a sys-
tem would improve industry practice. Elbeltagi et al. (2004)
presented a layout planning approach that considered both
safety and productivity as opposed to considering only pro-
ductivity issues during site planning. Weinstein et al. (2005)
studied the impact of a large-scale safety-in-design initiative
during the design and construction of a semiconductor man-
ufacturing facility in the Pacific Northwest of the United
employee, process, and learning. Since it would not be feasi- States. A procedure to optimize the layout of temporary
ble to deal with all these perspectives, the QFD tool was facilities was then developed in combination with a schedul-
used to evaluate each of them one by one and select the ing tool. Furthermore, a case study on a prototype system
most relevant for goal setting. The next step was to utilize was presented to demonstrate the benefits of the proposed
the balanced scorecard to determine the appropriate safety approach. Huang and Hinze (2006a, 2006b) presented a model
performance measures for each goal. Initiatives to accom- that evaluated the impact of different owner practices on
plish these goals were developed in the final stage of this project safety performance. They concluded in both studies
study. that the owner could favorably influence project safety
performance by setting safety objectives, selecting safe con-
Literature review tractors, and participating in safety management during con-
struction.
A literature review of previous safety research was carried The literature has thus defined the most significant factors
out to identify significant factors that would improve safety that would reduce losses due to construction accidents. These
performance. factors and the relevant references are listed in Table 1. For
Hinze (1978) drew attention to the safety impact of new this study, the factors were investigated in a survey form to
workers and turnover rates and stated that worker turnover is define a strategic safety management framework using the
a key factor in job safety. Studies have also revealed that balanced scorecard and QFD management tools.
injury levels are affected by how well company managers
and policies help new workers adapt to their work environ-
ment. Hinze and Pannullo (1978) showed that increased job Safety and the balanced scorecard tool
control led to better safety performance. Their study revealed
that contractors who closely monitored and controlled their An organization can use the balanced scorecard tool as a
projects had fewer job injuries among their workers than framework for translating its vision and strategies and clarify
contractors who did not. The following year, Hinze and Gordon its strategy through selected objectives and measures. Rather
(1979) investigated supervisor–worker relationships and how than focusing only on short-term performance, this tool also
they affect injury rates. These researchers found that super- provides guidance for long-term goals. The scorecard main-
visors who were more flexible in dealing with conflicts tains the financial perspective and complements it with the
between subordinates had better safety records than more customer, the internal business, and the innovation and growth
rigid supervisors did. Hinze and Harrison (1981) investi- perspectives. The original balanced scorecard framework
gated safety program practices in large companies in associ- developed by Kaplan and Norton (1996) was modified as
ation with reduced rates of injury. According to their study, shown in Fig. 2.
training and safety awards led to lower accident rates. Partic- This study slightly modified the perspectives of the origi-
ularly safe records were observed in firms that (i) provided nal balanced scorecard and focused on financial and cultural,
formal orientation for new workers; (ii) had field-safety learning, process, and employee perspectives. As mentioned
personnel that were hired by the corporate safety director; earlier, the objectives were selected for each perspective by
and (iii) placed the field-safety director in charge of training taking into consideration relevant research in the literature.
Factors Source(s)
Training Hinze (1978); Hinze and Harrison (1981)
Controlling, monitoring Hinze and Pannullo (1978); Hinze and Raboud (1988)
Coordination Hinze and Gordon (1979)
Numerical analysis with models Jaselskis et al. (1996); Weinstein et al. (2005)
Integration with critical path method Kartam (1997)
Owner practices Huang and Hinze (2006a, 2006b)
Productivity Hinze (1978); Elbeltagi et al. (2004)
Fig. 2. Original balanced scorecard framework (after Kaplan and Process perspective
Norton 1996). The process perspective is concerned with the operational
aspects that ensure a safer workplace and create a safety-
conscious climate.
Learning perspective
Having determined strategic objectives for the aforemen-
tioned perspectives, the balanced scorecard process identified
some gaps between the required and existing capabilities,
such as gaps in employee skills and motivation. The learning
perspective includes objectives aimed at addressing these
gaps.
625
626 Can. J. Civ. Eng. Vol. 34, 2007
Fig. 3. Typical house of quality. moderate, or weak relationship, respectively) into the cells
or leaving them empty if they found no relationship. A
filled-in questionnaire is shown in Fig. 4.
• The D, O, and Y responses were then replaced with the
discrete values 1, 3, and 5, respectively. The empty spaces
had a value equal to 0 (Fig. 5). The values 1, 3, and 5
were assigned because this practice is common in statisti-
cal literature.
• The values entered into the cells by each respondent were
added and then divided by the number of respondents
(Fig. 6).
• The importance rating for each enabler was then deter-
mined by the weighted average of the importance ratings
of the safety objectives and the relationship value of the
related enabler. The summary and the results of the pro-
cess are shown in Fig. 6.
The data were sent out to the owners, project managers,
and site superintendents of the construction projects in Turkey.
Discussion of results
The importance ratings for each objective can be seen in
Fig. 6. Some enablers were considered more important than
others, as shown numerically as shown in the last column.
All the safety objectives, which represent the objectives of
the financial and cultural perspective in the balanced score-
financial and cultural perspective actually compromises the
card, are included in the final scorecard. The enablers repre-
ultimate safety goals. The first dimension can be called the
senting the objectives of the remaining perspectives in the
safety objectives in the current house of quality, and the
balanced scorecard turned out to be less important and were
second one can be called “enablers”.
eliminated. The selected components of each perspective are
The “roof” of the house of quality was omitted from the
shown in Fig. 7.
questionnaire to avoid complexity for respondents. However,
the roof can help establish the cause–effect relationships of
the balanced scorecard. Furthermore, the dimensions of the Application of quality function deployment
house of quality were reversed for convenience—in other results to balanced scorecard
words, the enablers (product how-tos in the original QFD)
were placed on the left side of the house of quality, and the The next stage will be to utilize the scorecard, taking the
safety objectives (customer needs in the original QFD) were following steps:
placed at the top. • List the objectives for each perspective.
Construction companies of different sizes and the safety • Establish the cause–effect relationships.
department of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security • Propose possible measures for the objectives of each per-
were asked to complete this survey. The list of companies spective.
was developed with the help of the ministry. Approximately • List possible initiatives.
200 forms were mailed, and 50 hard copies were distributed Milestones for the establishment of the objectives will not
to potential respondents. A total of 40 surveys were com- be set here, since the timeline for accomplishing these goals
pleted, representing a response rate of 16%. A sample ques- will vary from one company to another. However, each com-
tionnaire form is shown in Fig. 4. The matrix was empty on pany is strongly advised to set target dates for meeting its
the forms given to the respondents, but the enablers and objectives so that everyone involved will have a definite time
safety objectives had been predetermined and filled out as frame to follow.
shown in the figure. As mentioned above, a list of possible objectives, derived
All the respondents were civil engineers, and the responses from a literature survey, was selected for all perspectives in
reflect the opinions of these construction industry profes- the balanced scorecard. Afterwards, a survey was conducted,
sionals. The projects involved varied from building projects and the most important objectives were determined. The out-
to infrastructure projects, though the type of project was not comes shown in Fig. 7 will form the strategic objectives for
reflected in the questionnaire. the perspectives of the balanced scorecard.
The steps involved in answering and evaluating the matrix
in the questionnaire were as follows: Cause–effect relationships
• Respondents evaluated the importance of each safety Determining cause–effect linkages allows a company to
objective by assigning a value from 1 to 5, with 1 being set accurate milestones for the accomplishment of interre-
the lowest and 5 being the highest grade. They also speci- lated goals. Although setting milestones is beyond the scope
fied how capable each enabler was in meeting the safety of this study, some possible cause–effect linkages are shown
objectives by entering a Y, O, or D (representing a strong, in Fig. 7. For example, providing orientation and training to
new employees will improve compliance with safety-codes Soderberg and Salena (1981) found no correlation between
standards (link 1). Compliance, in turn, will improve workplace job satisfaction and productivity. Mansfield et al. (1989)
climate (link 2). Improved workplace climate will increase presented an excellent review of literature in this area and
employee satisfaction (link 3), and employee satisfaction will concluded that the importance of worker satisfaction had not
result in improved productivity (link 4). However, there is yet been resolved. These studies suggest that link 4 needs
much debate about link 4 in the literature. Borcherding and careful attention.
Oglesby (1974) analyzed the hypothesis of social psycholo-
gists that high job satisfaction leads to high productivity. In Defining measures and initiatives
contrast, the present study found the reverse —that high pro- A relevant measurement system is needed to provide feed-
ductivity resulted in job satisfaction. In addition, a study by back and motivation for stakeholders. Table 2 lists possible
performance measures, most of which were derived from a the employee, process, and learning perspectives. The pro-
survey of the literature. posed initiatives are also listed in Table 2.
The last step in completing the balanced scorecard is to
define initiatives. Initiatives are actually the required actions Conclusion
the company has to take to accomplish its objectives. The
objectives in the financial and cultural perspective will be The balanced scorecard and QFD are effective tools that
the outcomes of the objectives in the other perspectives. management can use to identify relationships between objec-
Therefore, initiatives should be defined for the objectives for tives and performance measures in safety management prac-
tices. In this study, these two tools were slightly modified to effect relationships. In this way, the system is expected to
set targets and define goals for a safety management frame- improve itself over time, leading to the construction of an
work that a construction company could use for benchmarking even better safety management framework.
and measuring its safety performance. A survey form was Defining the milestones for each goal in the balanced
developed to define the final strategic goals in the balanced scorecard should be considered. However, the present study
scorecard. The proposed balanced scorecard will help the leaves implementation to the individual companies, since
construction industry test and receive feedback on cause– these targets change from one company to another. Com-
Fig. 7. Cause–effect linkages. Elbeltagi, E., Hegazy, T., and Eldosouky, A. 2004. Dynamic layout
of construction temporary facilities considering safety. Journal
of Construction Engineering and Management, ASCE, 130(4):
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Hinze, J. 1978. Turnover, new workers, and safety. Journal of the
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Hinze, J., and Gordon, F. 1979. Supervisor–worker relationship
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Acknowledgments Construction, 86(3): 461–470.
Soderberg, S.K., and Salena, K. 1981. The psychology of job satis-
The authors would like to thank Mr. Sedat Bitik and Mr. faction and worker productivity. In Human factors/ergonomics
Ekrem Turk for their continuous support during the research for building and construction. Edited by M. Helander. Wiley,
effort. New York. Construction Management and Engineering Series.
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